And through the years, when it comes to the AFC West race, the guy who usually is ripping things out of the Broncos' hands is Philip Rivers. Before Sunday's 30-23 Broncos victory, Rivers had won five of his six career starts in Denver, with the only Broncos win in that stretch having come when referee Ed Hochuli turned a fumble into an incomplete pass.

"So we knew we had to get to Philip," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "We couldn't let him get into that rhythm where he just feels like he can stand back there and go. We had some moments there where he did, but for the most part, we got it done."

The Broncos consistently harassed Rivers with one of the best pieces on any football chessboard — linebacker Von Miller — at their disposal and a defensive game plan designed to push Rivers out of his comfort zone.

As a result, Rivers threw his seventh fourth-quarter interception of the season and the Broncos earned the first season sweep of the Chargers since Rivers became San Diego's starter in 2006.

"I keep saying, I don't want to stop, I don't want him to slow down," Bailey said. "I want him to keep doing what he's doing."

Miller and Dumervil — who is tied for 10th in the league in sacks with eight, making the Broncos the only team with two players in the NFL's top 10 — have allowed defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio to consistently play coverage looks on long-yardage downs with a smaller, quicker lineup. The Broncos used a bevy of looks with five, six and even seven DBs.

After rookie Omar Bolden left the game with a concussion, it took every other defensive back the Broncos had in uniform to put the seven defensive backs into the formation.

What went wrong

After spending much of the day with a low-wattage effort on offense, the Chargers found a little room to work with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to close out the third quarter and an eight-play, 95-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

On those two possessions, Rivers finally found his rhythm and attacked the Broncos' smaller cornerbacks — 5-foot-9 Tony Carter and 5-10 Chris Harris — with 6-5 Danario Alexander and 6-5 Malcolm Floyd. On those two drives, Rivers even did a little of what he's done more than most front-line quarterbacks in the league: go after Bailey in 1-on-1 situations.

"If you want to be a good defense, you can't allow plays like that," said Bailey, who is the team's tallest cornerback at 6 feet. "We've got some things we need to work on."

Up next:

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The Broncos' first order of business will be to remember their business. They had bouts of sluggishness against the Chargers on Sunday, so it won't take a lot for the coaching staff and some of the team's more experienced hands to offer some reminders.

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